We're thrilled to have back one of our earliest artists and supporters, The Dandelion Council, with a lovely new album that exemplifies his style of lighthearted electronic music. It's sure to be a pleaser, so off we go!

With Dream Homes, The Dandelion Council's Pip Craighead seeks to tap into a long-standing personal fascination related to his hometown of Altadena, a small Los Angeles suburb nestled at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains. The central theme of this album is the domestic quiet of the suburbs contrasted with the mystery and majesty of the wilderness. The image of 1970s dream homes, with all their implicit promises of safety and security, dwarfed by a vast and untamed mountain range, with its promises of the unknown and untamable, evokes a sense of nostalgic yearning as well as a reminder of the mortality of human endeavor. While the tract houses and mini-mansions of suburbia eventually fall apart, the yearning for a lasting home is a perennial human desire. A longing for eternity is woven into the human heart.

Within this context, songs like "Starry Nights Under the Geodome" and "Gemstones" speak of nights spent hiking in hills and gazing at stars, while pieces like "Works And Days" and "Take Me Here Always" seek to evoke a sense of awe and wonder at creation and the God who made the universe. Sprinkled throughout the album you’ll find hints of half-heard voices and field recordings of streams and crickets. This is music informed by memories of old library books and of falling asleep listening to storybook cassette tapes. These are little songs about summer days and autumn nights, about sunlit streets and starlit backyards, and about the gift of being alive.

Dream Homes is The Dandelion Council’s third Archaic Horizon release. Thanks for listening. You can follow The Dandelion Council on Facebook and hear more on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

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